In this episode of STBYM’s The Monstrefact, Robert discusses the salt dragon of Forgotten Realms…
Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow Your Mind focusing on on mythical creatures, ideas and monsters in time. From green dragons to golden dragons, from solar dragons to lunar dragons. The world of Dungeons and Dragons has well a lot of dragons. One variety that hasn't officially seen the light of day since second edition is the salt dragon of the Forgotten Realms setting. These pale, yellow and white dragons were said to inhabit salt encrusted lands, and their breath weapon was fittingly salt themed as well. They expelled a cone of salt crystals that could blind and wound enemies both above and beneath the water. While there are no true salt dragons in the natural world, we do have the Galapagos marine iguana, an endemic algae eating iguana species that adapted to thrive on the isolated islands of the Galapacos. These are marvelous creatures to watch, sometimes comical and amusing, as they bask on shore side rocks and landings, but utterly graceful in the water. While the shore, they frequently appear to sneeze. This is actually a means of clearing excess salt from their bodies via special glands at the nostrils. The resulting salt crystals sometimes encrust the thorny heads of the lounging creatures, giving them an even saltier appearance. Those horny protrusions on the head, by the way, helps scrape algae away from the rocks during feeding. So for the marine iguana, salt sneezes are a means of removing excess levels of salt from the body, not a means of defense. Though even Charles Darwin in his book The Voyage of the Beagle described the act as follows quote. They do not seem to have any notion of biting, but when much frightened, they score to drop a fluid from each nostril. First impressions surely, as the basking iguanas seemed to regularly admit salt regardless of perceived fright Still, this curious feature allows us an avenue by which to imagine the physiology of a fantastic salt dragon. Instead of expelling all of its excess salt. Perhaps the giant fantastic creature is able to safely store the crystals or concentrated sailing solution inside its body for later use as a defensive or offensive breath weapon. Tune in for additional episodes of The Monster Fact each week. As always, you can email us at contact at stuff to bill your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your Mind is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.